Crazy Q&A Podcasts – Session #13

Today’s Topics

– Maintaining a worm bin during the winter
– How do you know your vermicomposting trench is getting too much water?
– What is the best foodstock for easy screening?
– Can pine shavings be used for vermicomposting?
– Is it possible to over-tend composting worms?
– Growth and cocoon production for Red Worms vs Euros
– Ideal percentage of vermicompost for potted crop plants?
– Any harvesting methods faster than “Turbo Light Harvesting”?
– What density of worms equals “over-crowding”?
– Which worms are best suited for vermicomposting?
– Salt accumulation over time with various feedstocks.

Show Notes

During the podcast I had some difficulty remembering the key differences between George Mingin’s worm production figures and those presented in the literature (Edwards and Dominguez in “Vermiculture Technology”).

Here is the full comparative run-down

Vermiculture Technology (Dominguez & Edwards)

Red Worms
Cocoon Production – 2.45-3.5 per worm per week
Incubation time (time to hatching) – 18-26 days
Juveniles per viable cocoon – 2.5-3.8
Time to maturity – 28-30 days

Euros
Cocoon Production – 1.96 per worm per week
Incubation time (time to hatching) – 42.1 days
Juveniles per viable cocoon – 1.10
Time to maturity – 65 days

George Mingin

Red Worms
Cocoon Production – 3 per worm per week
Incubation time (time to hatching) – 14-21 days
Juveniles per viable cocoon – ~3
Time to maturity – 42 days

Euros
Cocoon Production – 2 per worm per week
Incubation time (time to hatching) – 21-28 days
Juveniles per viable cocoon – ~1
Time to maturity – 56 days